This invention relates to a swimming snorkel. Conventional swimming snorkels comprise a mouthpiece section lying under the water during its use, an opened end section raised out of the water through which both an inspired air and an exhaled air can flow, a tubular section extending from the opened end section into the water and a connector section extending between the mouthpiece section and the tubular section. The mouthpiece section made of flexible elastic material is attached to the connector section and the mouthpiece is provided with a check valve enabling a part of air exhaled by a swimmer to be exhausted into the water. An example of such snorkel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,084.
The connector section in the snorkel disclosed in the above-cited document is a molded component of rubber or plastics. The connector section is hollow and, in order to obtain this, a pair of halves constituting the connector section must be often injection molded followed by joining respective peripheral edges of these halves to each other using a technique of welding or adhesive bonding. However, phenomena such as deformation occurring in a cooling step immediately after the injection molding make it difficult to join the peripheral edges of these halves to each other properly in terms of water-tightness as well as joining strength.
It is an object of this invention to provide a snorkel improved so that a pair of halves constituting the connector section can be properly joined to each other in terms of joining strength as well as water-tightness.
According to this invention, there is provided a snorkel comprising a mouthpiece section lying under water and held in a swimmer""s mouth, an open end section normally raised out of water, through which both an inspired air and an exhaled air freely flows, a tubular section extending upward in a vertical direction from the open end section into water, and a hollow connector section interposed between the mouthpiece section and the tubular section and provided with a check valve allowing the exhaled air to be exhausted into water.
The present invention is characterized in that the connector section is made of thermoplastic material and comprises first and second halves bulging outwardly of the snorkel, the first and second halves are pressed against each other along respective peripheral edges thereof opposed to each other and covered with a belt-like member made of thermoplastic material separately of the first and second halves, wherein the belt-like member extends along the peripheral edges and welded to the respective peripheral edges from an outside of the connector section.
This invention includes the following embodiments.
The first and second halves are respectively bowl-shaped and the connector section consisting of the first and second halves and the belt-like member is bulb-shaped.
At least a part of the belt-like member in its longitudinal direction presents a substantially C-shaped cross-section taken in a direction orthogonal to the peripheral edges of the first and second halves and has its inner surface welded to the peripheral edges.
The belt-like member has its color or color shade different from that of at least one of the first and second halves.
The check valve is mounted on a side wall of the connector section so as to be openable and closable in a transverse direction orthogonal to the vertical direction of the snorkel.